Hi from Rick: Oslo…Biking into the Future
Standing at Oslo's harborfront, I grab a bike from a self-service rack and go for a pedal. Enjoying a soft Norwegian breeze at my back, I'm able to get a fast, fascinating, and nearly free overview of this ever-changing capital.
The harborfront, once a smoke-belching industrial site, is now a delightful, people-friendly promenade. Here, hardworking commuter e-ferries glide silent and graceful across the fjord, connecting smartly planned urban zones (mixing residential and commercial) with rustic islands dotted with simple cabins flying their red, white, and blue Norwegian flags. Proudly evangelical about this transformation, the city has placed "Info Points" along the harbor, comparing today with sketches of how things looked back in the 1960s. Linking them by bicycle is a touristic twofer: see a great city…and learn how it's investing in a cleaner, greener tomorrow.
Oslo, like many Scandinavian cities, is committed to a fossil-free future with an emphasis on urban renewal, bicycles, and public transit. Since highways have long been rerouted beneath the now virtually car-free downtown, bikes, trams, and pedestrians rule the streets. The bike share program (Bysykkel) is affordable and tourist-friendly, with 250 handy racks scattered all over town. (Even I mastered it in minutes.) And the waterfront is one of Europe's best examples of "regeneration" — transforming rusty, abandoned industrial areas into inviting people zones. Biking and browsing, I felt as if in a computer-generated dream of a smart Nordic future.
I've long said that the best souvenir is a broader perspective. And as our planet continues to get hotter, I'm inspired to see how places like Oslo approach sustainability. But at the same time, travelers need to reckon honestly with the climate cost of getting there: the fact that flying to Norway — or anywhere in Europe — emits damaging carbon into the atmosphere.
That's why Rick Steves' Europe innovated our Climate Smart Commitment — a self-imposed carbon tax that creatively mitigates the environmental impact of the flights our travelers take to join our tours. Since 2019, we've donated over $5 million to a portfolio of nonprofits with a variety of approaches. Many of our grantees equip farmers in the world's poorest regions with climate-smart agriculture skills and technology, so they can work more productively and improve their quality of life, while reducing their carbon footprint. Our goal, put simply: to produce enough carbon savings through our investment in these farmers to creatively mitigate the carbon we create by flying to Europe.
And I'm excited to share that we've just announced our 2026 Climate Smart Commitment portfolio! You can learn all about the 13 well-deserving recipients in this month's Travel News. Plus, we'll explore more of Oslo from its pedestrian-friendly harborfront to its striking city hall to its sculpture parks and art museums, take a video tour of France's largest but shrinking glacier, and get 10 tips for cutting down your carbon footprint while traveling. And Cameron Hewitt writes about the first few bleary-eyed hours after an overnight flight to Europe.
Of course, climate isn't the only thing on the minds of travelers right now. We've got nearly 35,000 people booked on our 2026 tours, and a handful have reached out expressing concern about all that's going on in the world. This is understandable, and not something we take lightly. We're keeping a close eye on things — in Iran, in Ukraine, and all over — but the ad-lib approach America is taking with these conflicts makes it impossible to predict what will happen (other than a pricier plane ticket). That said, Rick Steves' Europe has weathered many moments of global unrest before…and we will again.
But if you want my honest take on current anxiety? It's yet another reason to travel. I'm more committed than ever to my belief that the best thing we Americans can do for peace is to get out there, make friends with our world, and come home and help the USA play better in our planetary sandbox. I just returned from Italy and I'm eager to begin 50 days of research in Greece, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland starting May 1.
And speaking of making friends…my last stop on that Oslo harbor bike ride was in front of the Nobel Peace Center. Parking my bike, I sat on a giant bench shaped like a smile. It made people giggle because you can't help but slide together…to the center. And from there you can read — etched into the pavement directly in front of you — a quote from Nelson Mandela: "The best weapon is to sit down and talk."
That little magic moment is just one of countless reasons why I will keep on travelin'. And I encourage you to do the same.
Rick